Description

Cary is looking for a Marketing Strategist to join us as we redefine local government marketing. This is an incredible opportunity to work for one of the best local governments in the nation and take an adaptive approach to building a role that elevates and strengthens the presence of our community, citizens, and organization on the national stage. The ideal candidate will bring ambition and strategy to a team eager to explore new avenues while developing high-quality and long-term connections to ultimately help create opportunities for Cary and its citizens in an increasingly global environment.

As the Marketing Strategist, your efforts will identify potential opportunities to convey Cary’s core values, communicate key messages, reinforce brand consistency, promote major events and initiatives, and increase awareness to a national and international audience. We are looking for an outgoing, strategic thinker with an established record of networking, media relations, and placement at the regional and national levels.

This role relies on a combination of marketing and media relations strategies to research and develop opportunities to strengthen brand recognition, managing budgets and determining ROI to measure past successes and determine future campaign models. The Marketing Strategist will apply a self-starter approach to developing, liaising with, and nurturing a local and national network of strategic partnerships in the media, advertising, and other industries.

Work is performed under the general supervision of the Marketing Communications Supervisor.

Typical Tasks

CAMPAIGN DEVELOPMENT
Research, collect, and evaluate potential promotional or marketing opportunities that will help meet the organization’s goals and objectives; maintain a database of potential marketing campaigns or awareness opportunities;

MARKET RESEARCH, PLANNING, AND ANALYSIS
Gather, document, and analyze qualitative and quantitative information about an audience; identify trends and apply learnings to marketing strategy and campaigns; analyze and report on marketing return on investment, connecting value to organizational objectives and goals;

CONTENT CURATION
Research, create, gather, and publish or share content that is of interest or value to a target audience as part of inbound marketing efforts;

COLLABORATION
Work collaboratively with Marketing team members, interdepartmental staff groups, contractors, and partner agencies to support lead generation, market research and strategy, and content curation efforts;

CONTENT AND ASSET MANAGEMENT
Collaboratively organize and locate assets such as documents, graphics, images, and video, within a content management system;

MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS PLANS
Research, develop, execute, and evaluate clear and thorough plans; collaborate in cross-functional teams to assist staff, independent contractors, and external marketing consultants with plans;

DIGITAL CONTENT PUBLICATION
Gather, write, edit, review, approve, schedule, and publish content across communications channels including websites, SMS, social media, and marketing emails as needed;

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Actively seek out opportunities to learn or expand skillset and gain knowledge; stay abreast of current trends and technology in the marketing industry;

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• PUBLIC SPEAKING AND VERBAL COMMUNICATION SKILLS
  • An expert ability to clearly and confidently express a concept to a group or individual through spoken word; compose an organized and informative presentation;
• MEDIA AND PUBLIC RELATIONS
  • A basic understanding of how to interact with the media for the purpose of informing the public of Cary’s mission, brand, and practices in a positive, consistent and credible manner; oversee the preparation of information for media and public consumption; evaluate public opinion of Cary through a multichannel approach; maintain a network of strategic relationships via phone calls, emails, direct messages, conference attendance, and other channels;
• WRITTEN COMMUNICATION SKILLS
  • An expert ability to clearly express a concept through written word in the brand voice and with grammatical accuracy; consistently utilize correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation and adhere to Town of Cary writing style guides; edit and proofread;
• STRATEGIC THINKING
  • Ability to anticipate barriers and circumvent any that prevent progress; ability to quickly sort through a variety of paths and determine the one that works the best/most efficiently; ability to think and generate multiple options/alternatives; ability to create structures and systems to help the team achieve priorities;
• MARKETING STRATEGY
  • An expert understanding of the different ways our organization can convey value, communicate key messages, and generate brand awareness for/to a target audience; ability to identify and implement appropriate strategies to reach long-term goals and objectives;
• VISUAL MARKETING
  • A solid ability to review graphics, photos, and videos for brand accuracy; provide feedback on graphics, photos, and videos;
• DIGITAL MEDIA STRATEGY
  • A solid understanding of best practices in web writing, email marketing, and social media as they apply to the organization’s goals and objectives;
• Passion for working in an innovative and dynamic environment, handling a varying of duties, situations, and changes with an adaptive mindset; motivated to continually improve and achieve excellence beyond the status quo
• Ability to recognize, research, analyze, and solve problems independently;
• Ability to exercise initiative and independent judgment, quickly turning thoughts, ideas, and concepts into clear and strategic actions;

BONUS SKILLS:

• Experience with writing, curating, and strategizing content for a variety of marketing materials and campaigns;
• Experience or familiarity with marketing analytics tools;
• Experience with or knowledge of Salesforce, Salesforce Service Cloud, Salesforce Marketing Cloud;
• Familiarity with public records laws in North Carolina (NC Public Records Act and Cary’s Public Records Policies) and how they pertain to the work of the Marketing team;
• Knowledge of Cary’s objectives, culture, policies, programs, services, events, and facilities.

Minimum and Preferred Qualifications

Any combination of education and experience equivalent to graduation from an accredited college or university with a bachelor’s degree in communications, media or public relations, marketing, or related field and a minimum of five years’ experience in marketing or communications in a professional or freelance setting.

Skill and experience in creating, collaborating on, and analyzing marketing campaigns from conception to completion is ideal.

Candidates should submit at least one writing sample demonstrating a pitch that was successfully used to achieve placement. The sample should display a firm grasp of syntax and grammar, close attention to detail, and a concise voice with a clear call-to-action. Include a short summary for each sample describing the medium for which the sample was developed (e.g. magazine, television, newspaper, Internet) the forum for which it was intended (e.g. stockholders annual report, documentary, employee newsletter), and a description of the target audience(s).

Preference will be given to candidates with:

• A thorough knowledge of the Internet and its use as a marketing tool
• Demonstrated versatility communicating across digital marketing channels
• A positive attitude, sense of humor, and the confidence to take risks!

Requires a valid driver’s license with an acceptable driving record.Requires drug testing and background check (which may include criminal check, education verification, and credit history review) prior to employment.